Lifestyle: Getting Crafty With Laura Ashley

So Christmas Day has been and gone! Even so, I learnt some craft skills this year that I can now take over into the new year and put into practice for birthdays and celebrations, as well as next years festive season. A day spent with Laura Ashley, Ministry of Craft and Rosy Lee Tea Rooms in Manchester has now trained me up to be a crafts-master extraordinaire!

The day consisted of 25 of us crafty bloggers learning how to make a present sack, a gift box and a luxe gift bow, all made from Laura Ashley wallpaper and fabrics.

After a lot of paper folder, nipping, tucking and snipping… I created the most beautiful gift box, complete with a box bottom and box lid. No cardboard inserts needed; if you use good quality Laura Ashley wallpaper, you can get real sturdy shapes forming. I used a lovely pastel wash floral print paper to create my box, and it really is the prettiest thing.

The next task was to make a luxury bow out of strips of wallpaper. Again, a lot easier than expected and it devliered extremely professional results; I absolutely adored my bow I created all from folding strips and double sided sellotaping them down…

After a short break away from crafts to indulge in mini Yorkshire puddings and little bruschetta’s, I jumped onto a sewing machine for the first time in aproximatley 10 years and learnt how to stitch up a little gift sack creation, using scraps of fabric to create mini flag designs. I have to admit, this bit was my weakest bit!

A huge thank you to the team at Ministry of Craft in the Northern Quarter for hosting the event and teaching us very patiently. The team showed me step by step how to create the luxury bags, boxes and bows, and their expertise delivered fantastic results! I love my box and bow the best, and sure will be making these throughout 2015 to decorate friends and families gifts. If you want to get crafty in the new year and start learning new ways of ‘making things’, then check them out for a potential New Years Resolution hobby. They do beginners classes in all sorts from Beginners Clothing Alterations to Master Zips and Buttonholes.

Another big thank you to Laura Ashley for putting together the event and providing such beautiful papers and fabrics to learn and create with. It truly was a fantastic day and has taught me new skills I shall be putting into practise more. You can read more about the event here over at the Laura Ashley blog, and see if it inspires you to become more crafty!